US court approves bonuses for Dewey administrators

July 31, 2012
A US federal bankruptcy judge has approved a plan to award $700,000 in bonuses to the administrators working to wind down business at bankrupt firm Dewey & LeBoeuf. The court overruled the objections of the US Trustee, Tracy Hope Davis, who claimed that the award of bonuses at this stage was ‘premature’ and unjustified.

Judge Martin Glenn explained his decision in the court order: ‘[T]he cost of the Retention Plan is reasonable in light of the possible consequences the Debtor would face if it were unable to stop more Employees from leaving.”

And as Above the Law points out, the work of chasing after clients for money on behalf of a defunct law firm, figuring out how to deal with thousands of boxes of client files and dealing with the ugliness of litigation spawned by Dewey’s collapse is a tough gig, and significant incentives are required.